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By Tom Ozimek
So far, just one electric vehicle (EV) charger has been built under a $7.5 billion program introduced by President Joe Biden’s 2021 ...
- SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Special Counsel’s Petition on Trump’s Immunity Defense
By Catherine Yang
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track consideration of special counsel Jack Smith’s petition for an immediate ruling on whether former ...
- US Skips Congressional Review to Approve Sale of 14,000 Tank Shells to Israel
By Tom Ozimek
The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to greenlight the sale to Israel of about 14,000 tank shells without congressional review, ...
- Hunter Biden Indictment Part of ‘Deep State’ Plan to Hurt Trump, Says Vivek Ramaswamy
By Tom Ozimek
The latest indictment that brought nine new tax charges against Hunter Biden, son of President Joe Biden, could be part of a ...
- ACLU Will Represent NRA In Free Speech Case Before Supreme Court
By Tom Ozimek
The National Rifle Association (NRA) has found an unlikely ally in of the left-leaning American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which will represent ...
- Legal Analyst Reveals Trump’s ‘Good Strategy’ in New York Trial
By Jack Phillips
Several law experts suggested that former President Donald Trump’s recent choice of expert witness was a smart move in his New York ...
- White House Responds to Questions About Hunter Biden’s Possible Presidential Pardon
By Tom Ozimek
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre fielded questions from reporters on Friday about whether President Joe Biden would pardon his son, Hunter ...
- Trump Has Good Shot With Supreme Court to Get DC Case Tossed, Experts Say
By Petr Svab
Former President Donald Trump has several viable avenues to have the Supreme Court throw out federal charges he’s facing for his efforts ...
- Hunter Biden Indicted on 9 Tax Evasion Charges in Special Counsel Probe
By Caden Pearson
A California grand jury has returned a nine-count indictment against Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son, charging him with three felony tax ...
- Border Patrol Agents Blame Policy Reversals for Historic Surge in Illegal Crossings
By Mark Tapscott
Nine Customs and Border Patrol agents told Congressional investigators that the lack of consequences for crossing the U.S. border illegally is to ...
- Expert Says He Couldn’t Find a ‘Single’ Accounting Provision Violated in Trump Fraud Trial
By Michael Washburn and Catherine Yang
Former President Donald Trump returned to Manhattan’s famous courthouse on Dec. 7 to hear the last expert witness testify ...
- House Votes to Overturn Biden’s EV Mandate
By Joseph Lord
The House of Representatives on Dec. 6 voted to pass a bill that will block a proposed rule by the Environmental Protection ...
![Strong labor data and positive expectations about the incoming Trump administration pushed the U.S. dollar to a two-year high on Thursday. The U.S. dollar iIndex hit a high of 109.53 on Jan. 2, the first trading day of the year, and the highest since November 2022. The jump came as data released on Thursday by the U.S. Department of Labor showed that initial jobless claims hit an eight-month low, suggesting a robust labor market, which is a positive sign for the overall economy. The dollar index was trading slightly lower on Friday at 108.96 as of 08:30 a.m. EST. The dollar index increase is also supported by investor confidence in the upcoming Trump administration, which assumes power this month. According to a recent survey by consulting company Teneo, “global CEOs and investors are optimistic about the economic impact of a second Trump administration, outweighing concerns about tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and trade barriers.” Story continues below advertisement In fact, “50 percent of global CEOs are accelerating activities in areas such as domestic and international investment and hiring based on the outcome of the 2024 U.S. election,” it said. While the dollar strengthened, the euro and sterling declined on Thursday. The euro fell to its lowest level in more than two years while the sterling declined to its lowest in eight months. A Dec. 17 report from JP Morgan predicts the U.S. dollar to reach even new highs over the coming months. Related Stories How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 1/2/2025 How Major US Stock Indexes Fared Jan. 2 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup 1/2/2025 Americans Have Hopes Trump Will Deliver on Immigration, Economy, Safety: Gallup “November’s election outcome has given way to lower global growth expectations, wider growth gaps between the U.S. and the rest of the world, and higher terminal federal funds rate forecasts for 2025—the perfect trifecta of bullish U.S. dollar cyclical impulse,” said Meera Chandan, co-head of Global FX Strategy at the company. “These are early first-order reactions that may give way to deeper rethinks once the full set of Trump administration policies are known next year [2025], but for now, they constitute a solid economic rationale for carrying a long U.S. dollar stance into the first quarter of 2025.” JP Morgan sees the euro’s outlook as bearish, noting the eurozone is especially vulnerable to trade conflicts. And while sterling was the best-performing currency against the dollar last year, such an outperformance is not expected this year, it said. US Economy Performance in 2025 With President-elect Donald Trump set to take power in less than three weeks, there are mixed views about how things could shape up for the American economy. According to a Dec. 9 post by Morgan Stanley, markets are “bullish on Trump’s second term, hoping for tax cuts and better growth.” “We expect no net stimulus and a decent size hit from tariffs and immigration. This should be bullish for bonds as the Fed continues cutting, but could be a disappointment for frothy stocks,” it said. Regarding tariffs, the most likely outcome is a 20 percent hike on Chinese imports and on vehicles from Mexico and the European Union, Morgan Stanley said. Story continues below advertisement It predicts the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue cutting interest rates to a range of 3 percent 3.5 percent by the end of 2025. S&P Global is forecasting the U.S. economy to grow by 2 percent in 2025 and 2026, following an estimated growth of 2.7 percent last year. The company sees inflation to likely remain above the 2 percent level for “longer than we previously thought.” Goldman Sachs predicts the U.S. economy to “beat expectations” this year. “The U.S. economy is in a good place,” said David Mericle, an economist with the company. “Recession fears have diminished, inflation is trending back toward 2 percent, and the labor market has rebalanced but remains strong.” While Trump’s policy changes are likely to be “significant,” Mericle does not see these actions changing the trajectory of the economy substantially. Goldman foresees the Fed reducing interest rates to a range of 3.25–3.50 percent, with the U.S. GDP predicted to grow by 2.5 percent. There have been three consecutive quarters of economic growth in the first nine months of 2024—1.6 percent in the first quarter, 3 percent in the second, and 3.1 percent in the third.](https://www.usnn.news/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/US-Dollar-Index-Hits-Highest-Level-in-2-Years-Euro-Falls-jpg.webp "US Dollar Index Hits Highest Level in 2 Years, Euro Falls 5")
